Chronic pain

Chronic pain is defined as daily pain for a period of three months or more in the past six months.

One in five Australians, including children and adolescents, will experience chronic pain in their lifetime and up to 80 per cent of people living with chronic pain are missing out on treatment that could improve their health and quality of life.

A National Pain Strategy has been developed which argues that there are vast gains to be made in the management of chronic pain through prevention, community awareness, early intervention and better access to pain management services.

The Model of Care for Chronic Pain Management in South Australia aims at improving the delivery of pain management services to South Australians by delivering:

A state-wide referral pathway to improve access to services and reduce waiting list times

Improved integration of interdisciplinary care and services across all levels

Improved operational capacity

A blueprint through which to improve collaborative and effective working relationships between the primary, secondary and tertiary health systems, particularly in regard to planning future services, data collection and reporting

Greater awareness by consumers and health professionals about chronic pain, treatment options and how to access services.

Managing chronic pain

For people experiencing persistent pain, it is important to recognise and address it as early as possible in order to reduce the risk of developing chronic pain. Self-management and primary care services can help improve the quality of life of most people experiencing chronic pain without having to attend specialist hospital services.

A recent survey undertaken by SA Health showed that around 20% of the respondents did not access any local services to manage their chronic pain and less than 5% of people with chronic pain reported using any online self-management resources to manage their condition.

A range of free and low cost, easily accessible pain management resources are available to help South Australians better manage their condition, including:

Local programs and resources

Toolkits for self-help

High quality online pain resources

If you suffer from severe pain, your GP may refer to or seek advice from a specialist service.

Community-based pain management programs

The Living Well with Persistent Pain program is offered to patients at no
cost, and utilises local primary health care workforce to support patients in their pain management in the community. It provides a holistic self-management course, case coordination, group sessions and one-on-one allied health services.